Beyond The Looking Glass
by LycanRed
Summary: Ranma has a dream, and a decision that he shares with Akane, and nothing could possibly be the same again.


Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Hello all, I'm sorta back from Hiatus. I've been bouncing around the country for a couple months now and I haven't had the chance to sit down and work, but here I am. I thought of this while I was trying to write the next chapter of my story Ruby Queen, Jade Knight. I've been having so much trouble with it that I figured if I wrote this out it might relieve some stress, and I can get back to it. Anyway, on with the oneshotness.

Beyond the Looking Glass

"I had a dream last night." I said, as Akane settled on the roof next to me.

"Oh, what about?"

I looked over at her, her yellow sundress moving about in the breeze, her short blue hair like a messy pile on her head, shifting as she turned to look at me.

"There was a mirror. A really big mirror y'know. It was in a room, sorta looked like my room, only it was bigger. There was nuthin in it but this real big, fancy mirror. It was on a stand that let it spin, and it was wood, ya know what I mean?"

When I heard her make a sound of agreement, I continued.

"So, anyway, I'm walkin' around this room, looking all around the mirror for somethin', only I'm not just walkin', I've got all this weight on me, like chain's and metal weights and stuff. So, I'm walkin' around lookin for somethin' and I'm carry'n all this weight, and I'm really starting to drag ya know, like I just got in a fight with everybody at once ya know, Ryoga, Mousse, Kuno, The Old Freak, all of em."

I hear her laugh a bit, though without any real humor, and I can guess what's going through her head.

"Anyway, so I'm gettin' really tired, and just as I think that maybe, just maybe I can't keep goin' anymore, I look up, instead'a at the floor, cuz I was lookin' the whole time ya know, and I'm lookin' in the mirror."

It feels sort of like the outside world is getting dimmer as I keep talking. I'm looking at the blue sky, mixed with grey as the sun starts to set, streaks of clouds littering the scene.

"And there, standin' in front of me, is my girl form. She's just standin' there lookin' at me, and... and she looks really sad. I mean, like she's gonna cry or somethin', and that's when I realize that there's somethin' wrong with that. So I look down again, and I'm a guy, and there's still all this weight on me, and I'm still really tired, but I look back at the mirror, and there she is, red hair'n everything, only she don't got no weight on her, and she don't look tired or nothin', only really sad, like I said before."

The sky seems to shimmer above me, and I can see the dream, like I'm living it, only I can still feel the tiles beneath my back, and the breeze that's still blowing, and I can even still feel Akane, sitting there beside me, but at the same time, I'm there, in that room, with that mirror.

"So I'm lookin' at this girl, who looks like me, but can't be, and then stuff starts happening behind her, things start moving, and swirling, and then, I'm lookin' at somethin'. It aint reflectin' the room any more, but instead I can see back when I was six, and we were leaving to train, and Mom was there, and Pop's is tellin' me that I can finger paint on this peice of paper, and Mom's lookin' real serious, but she's cryin' too. Then, when I put my hand on the paper, a big wall popped up between me'n Mom, and I look at the girl me, and now she don't just look sad, but like, she's about ta really start cryin'. Her eyes are watering and every thing."

I'm not really aware of it, but as I keep talking, my vision gets a bit blurry,

"Then, the background changes again, and now it's me'n Ucchan playin'. Only it don't last long. Pretty soon, Pop is comin' along, and askin' me ta choose, and then were leavin' Ucchan, only instead of chasin' us, she's chained to the ground, and she's screamin'. Then it swirls again and Ryoga's there. It's him, and he's walkin' around, and there'r all these people, only the colors drained outtuv'em, and there all greyish ya know. So he's walking around and he's reachin' for these people, but it's like, everytime he's about to touch one of'em, they just poof, and turn to smoke, and the whole time all of the buildings keep spinning around or dissapearin' ya know."

I can see that the sky is clear, and it's not raining, but for some reason, I can feel, wetness on my cheeks. Ignoring it, I continue to tell Akane about my dream.

"Then, I look back at the girl me, and she's cryin' like, really cryin'. Just standin' there, starin' at me, and cryin'. I mean, the look on her face was just, like, so, so sad, that I didn't wanna keep lookin' so I looked back at the background, and there you are, just smilin' and reachin' out your hand, and I remember that it was the first time I came here, and you were askin' me if I wanted to be friends with ya. Then, everything got blurry, and I could only pick out bits'n pieces'a what was goin' on. I saw things from when I was trainin', like the C...c...ca...cat fist, and other, um, stuff. There was some stuff that had happened since I came here to'n all. Like the fight with Herb, and, what happened at Jusendo, and then it all went blank and she was the only one there, still just cryin'n lookin' at me."

For some reason, I felt really cold, even though the breeze was only just below warm, and the heat of the day was still soaked into the tiles, so I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered a bit.

"So, she's just lookin' and cryin' when I hear somethin'. So I turn around, an there's a window behind me, even though I was pretty sure it wasn't there before, and I can hear everyone. All the fiance's, the guys, everybody. They were screamin', and yellin', and cryin' for me. They were all tryin' to get me, they all wanted me for somethin', and I was gonna run, but all the weight on me got really heavy all of a sudden, ya know. Like, even heavier than before, and I could here everybody gettin' closer, even though I just wanted them ta leave me be. I couldn't run, couldn't even move, cause I was just to weighed down ya know. They were gettin' real close, and just before I was sure that they'd find me, and tear me ta peices so they'd all get somethin' outta me, I saw her hand, she was holdin' it out to me, through the mirror."

I was really cold now, with the way I was shivering, it was getting harder to breath for some reason, and my face felt even wetter than before, but I continued telling her.

"I looked up at her, and she was still cryin', only now she was smilin' too. I realized, she was tryin' to help me, even though I couldn't stand her, becaused I'm sposed to be a guy, she was the last one who would help me. Ryoga, Ucchan, Mom, Pop, ... you. Yall were tryin' to get me, but she was tryin' to help, and I realized that I'd be alone, and helpless, against everyone, if I didn't take her hand right then. So I used all the strength I could, and I stood up, I grabbed her hand, n'then I stepped through the glass, inta that mirror with her, and as I stood there, in the same room as before, only with her, I looked back at the mirror, and alla those weights were just lyin' there on the ground, and everybody was lookin' around, and they all had their own weights, but I wasn't there anymore, and when they all realized that, they all dropped their weights, and they left, and they were all smilin'. All of em' except you, you were lookin' in the mirror."

I sat up at that, and looked over at Akane, and she was crying, looking at me and crying, and I realized that I was crying to, and that I didn't care if it was manly, cause I was gonna finish telling her.

"That's when I blinked, and it wasn't quick like normal, it was a slow blink, and there in the mirror was me, and I was a girl, and I was smilin' and cryin', and you were there beside me, smilin' and cryin' just like me, lookin' into the mirror as well, and I realized, that who I was, that Ranma Saotome, the he was just a big problem. Everybody, needs ta get somethin' outta him, and that they can't, so they're all weighed down, just like he's weighed down by alla the stuff their tryin' to get outta him. I, I also realized that, that I love ya Akane, but I can't be with you, so long as they all gotta get somethin' outta me, and the only way, the absolute only way to make everybody happy, is ta get ridda Ranma Saotome, and the only way I can do that without dyin' is to be the other me, the one that nobody needs ta get anythin' out of. But... that still leaves me'n you outta things, and... that's why I'm tellin' you this, Akane, cuz I really do love ya, but, I... I'm not gonna be me, this me, anymore, cuz as much as I love ya, I just can't let everyone else be weighted down by me any more. That's what the dream was about, and that's what I gotta do."

As soon as I'd finished saying it, I felt it. That familiar tingle in the back of my mind that was Jusenkyo, get stronger, and then I was a girl, and the tingle dissapeared entirely, and I am a girl, and Akane is still crying, and so am I, and I still don't care about what's manly, as I pull the taller girl into a hug, and she hugs be back. I don't care about anything for a short time, as I bury my face in her hair, breathing her scent, and just crying. I knew that just like in the dream, I had stepped beyond the looking glass, and that things were going to be different, but I also knew that eventually, no matter what happened, it would be okay.

End.

A/N: Well that's that. Not really sure what I was going for, but I like the way it turned out. Normally I'm not a fan of Ranma Akane pairings, but techniqually, they're not together in this, even if Ranma said he loved her. Eh, oh well, anyway's I hope to have the next chapter of RQ,JK up soon. Till then, R&R.

PeaceOut

LycanRed


End file.
